Find out the salaries of the UFC and boxing officials, know how much they earn along with the referee salary in 2023
Viewers have witnessed some of the most intense mixed martial arts matches in the UFC, featuring aggressive takedowns and skillful submissions.
UFC and boxing referee salary and officials pay list in 2023
Any sport benefits greatly from refereeing, but combat sports and martial arts sports especially benefit from it. It is the duty of a referee to keep the fighters from suffering needless injuries. Or, to put it another way, a fighter trusts the Referee with his life.
The pool of qualified referees available to the UFC is large, despite the dearth of well-known and well-liked officials. A total of 35 referees were employed by the UFC in 2020, per Tapology.
Herb Dean topped all UFC officials with 75 bouts officiated. Not far behind was Jason Herzog, the third man in sixty bouts. Dan Miragliotta and Marc Goddard both refereed 35 UFC fights; Mark Smith oversaw 57 fights, and Chris Tognoni 50.
For a single bout, referees in Dana White’s promotion usually earn between $250 and $10,000 annually. Fans of mixed martial arts have always been curious about the wages of UFC and boxing officials. To explain this, however, you need to divide the referees into three categories: professionals, women, and beginners.
Although they get paid more for larger pay-per-view events, UFC referees are hired and compensated on a fight-by-fight basis. For several kinds of referees, there is a base pay that goes up depending on their reputation, the event, and the amount of money the promoter has.
Recently, the minimum salary for officials was disclosed by the California State Athletic Commission. World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Organisation (WBO), International Boxing Organisation (IBO), Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC), and Bellator MMA are just a few of the elite organisations that will need to adhere to this payment.
The official minimum salary for officials in the majority of recognised World Championship fights will be $1,900 for referees, $1,600 for judges, and $500 for timekeepers, per the new regulations.
Nevertheless, the referees will receive $600 for the Regional Championship Bouts, thus the compensation is a little lower. Judges and timekeepers will also get minimum salary of $500 and $400, respectively.
From CSAC page:
Minimum Pay for Professional Officials For Most Recognized World Championship Bouts*
Minimum Pay for Professional Officials For Regional Championship Bouts*
Standard Officials' Pay Scale Professional Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai and Kickboxing pic.twitter.com/k7dlzeQ9BL
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) December 9, 2023